Book Review: Bodhi, The All American Lodge Dog (Maryland, yellow lab)

Bodhi, The All-American Lodge Dog, photography by Middleton Evans (Ravenwood Press, 2007, $35 HB, 192pp) Review by Skye Anderson 

Who Says You Can't Tell a Book by its Cover?

The cover photo will draw you in and the inside photos will keep you enthralled and entertained!

Every hotel should have a hotel dog (there is at least one in New York City). Every dormitory, daycare, camp, school, retirement home, prison, fraternity and sorority house, too! And in Maryland, the Savage River Lodge* has its own resident yellow labrador retriever, Bodhi. Of course, if your favorite dog is the labrador retriever like so many Americans over the past decades, you will want to keep thumbing through Bodhi, The All-American Lodge Dog and 'dog-ear' your favorite photos! There are so many of them. . . . 

Bodhi started out life as a little pup whose people built a wilderness resort for him (of course!) (well, sort of!) that was simply heaven on earth, full of adventures to experience, animals and people-guests to meet, winter snow to ski and snowshoe on, spring buds and 'baby wilds' to smell and befriend, autumn leaves to bound in (and wear).

Fall Fun

Man's Best Friend, or - Everyone's Best Friend?

Bodhi is a healer: many lodge guests come to relax, commune with nature,  escape the stresses of everyday city life while others come to ski or fish or . . . meet Bodhi!

In an interview with an animal communicator, Bodhi related that communication with him and his kind is becoming more understood. It is like learning another language. When we learn the language of interspecies communication, we can truly say "Bodhi speaks" and we listen (p. 161).

Game Warden

With Six Chapters. . . . 

With six chapters, each introduced by an essay followed by several two-page spreads on a specific topic, my favorite was "A Day in the Life," showing Bodhi's morning commute, his office hours, a sniff test of new canine guests arriving at the lodge and 'Kissing the Girls' who check in at three, three square meals, romper room, show business, and finally, "Good night and sweet dreams, Bodhi!")

What the Future Brings

Bodhi's book appeared in 2007 and there have been some changes  since then, of course. First of all, in his book Bodhi mentions his people will soon travel to pick up a set of yellow lab twins, Koko and Karma, who Bodhi will train to be the welcome staff at Savage River.

Since the Bodhi book was written in 2024, Bodhi, Koko and Karma have passed away but left their legacy in calendars for a few years. We hope the Lodge will soon again have a canine ambassador with a calendar for those folks too far away to visit in person.

The Savage River Lodge, home of fine dining and delightful events such as Wine in the Woods and weddings (even elopements) and retreats, is still welcoming guests who stay in the lodge itself or in yurts or cabins. And the Lodge is dog-friendly, of course!

Y'all Come Back Now, You Hear?

*about three hours from both Baltimore and Washington, DC

Bonus: some of my favorite Bodhi photos, besides the silly ones: inside the front cover (below)

 and inside the back cover (below)

Summer Fun

More Summer Fun

Book Review: TL;DR Shakespeare (summaries of his plays)(OT)

TL;DR Shakespeare, by SparkNotes (Spark Notes, 2022, $14.99, 96pp) Review by Skye Anderson 

TL;DR? LOL?

At last I know what TL;DR means! Like LOL which some thought meant Lots of Luck when it really means Laughing out Loud, Tl;DR actually means Too Long; Didn't Read!

I have been an amateur Shakespeare aficionado since the age of 12: I try to like his plays and I keep trying, which is why I picked up this very colorful little book.

Six Comedies, Six Tragedies: Organized

One of two TL;DR books (the other being Literature* - 13 modern classics), this is a keeper for any student in high school or college or for any self-learner. Since it can be difficult for an amateur (non-English major) to understand poetry written hundreds of years ago, Notes can help explain Shakespeare for you. It would make a great gift for a 12-year-old to read over the summer and decide which of the plays to really start with.

Each play has a 6-page spread starting with illustrations of the characters, with the genre, setting and 'year first performed.' Next comes the summary (plot overview with rising action, climax, falling action and major conflict )

followed by a page of more main characters (more than before) and their relationships, themes and a quote,

closing with the key question and answer, and finally, 'What Does the Ending Mean'?

This TL;DR book also contains half-page synopses of 9 other comedies, 6 tragedies and 11 histories in addition to the six comedies and six tragedies.

What Would I Change?

A few things: first, some pages had backgrounds of such dark colors like blue that the print was difficult to read. And, like Russian novels of several hundred pages spanning decades, this book of summaries tries to include everything so that you don't remember the characters' names after reading the one paragraph synopsis.

However, I can't wait to get the other TL;DR book - Literature!

*includes To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, The Handmaid's Tale, The Things They Carried, Of Mice and Men, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and more

Book Review: Kody's Capers: Finding Joy (horse - rescue and therapy)(OT)

Kody's Capers: Finding Joy, by Terri Abbatiello (Terri Abbatiello Publishing, 27pp, 2023, ages 3-10, $10.99) Review by Skye Anderson

Kody, a little miniature horse with one blue eye and one brown eye, comes full circle in his book Finding Joy. In the beginning, Kody wants for food, among many other things, but most of all, he wants love. Then, a miracle happens but it's scary - a trailer comes for Kody and his friends and takes them - fast and noisily - to a wonderful new home, a horse rescue farm.

Trimming Tickles!

We loved the part where getting his hooves trimmed tickles!

The next thing Kody knows is that he is adopted and he (with his person) visits others as a therapy horse! They bring joy but not only to people - also to the animals Kody lives with.

Starting Conversations

Kody's Capers will start many a conversation, from the younger set retelling the story, to the older ones noticing Kody's eyes and asking about therapy animals. Who knows? Maybe the readers will beging taking their dogs to schools, libraries or nursing homes to spread the joy!

And, Best of All

And, best of all, this is a true story!

Book Review: Driving Home Naked (and other misadventures of a country veterinarian)

Driving Home Naked (and other misadventures of a country veterinarian) by Melinda McCall* (She Writes Press, 2023, $17.95, 304 pages PB) Review by Skye Anderson 

Now that I have your attention. . . . !

If the cover illustration (with the requisite border collie as co-pilot) doesn't reel you in, the title will: Driving Home Naked. 

If you like to carry a book around with you as you go through your day and open it when you have a few empty minutes (rather than using your i-phone), this is the book for you, with short anecdotes of sometimes humorous situations and other times unbelievable situations. However, you might want to cover the cover, especially due to the title!

Divided into three sections, "Dressing the Part" (with 18 short chapters covering the years 1990-2007), "Peeling Off the Layers" (12 stories, 2008-2011) and "Wearing Many Hats" (25 situations, 2012-2021), Driving Home Naked covers the early years, mid-career and experienced experiences to date of a teacher of others in a female large-animal veterinary practice in Virginia. 

Who hasn't wanted to be a veterinarian? Not I! I still want to be one. And I can be - sort of - by reading books like Naked.

I hesitate to say this, but I especially liked the two stories about euthanasia, one being rather humorous. But I can't tell you my favorite story - McCall simply included too many. However, she will sell and sign her books at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds on 4 and 5 May: I can't wait to chat with her!

The Author

McCall is truly living her dream and was driven to be a veterinarian from an early age, having been brought up on a dairy farm. You, too, can live your dream of being a veterinarian in Driving Home Naked without having to drive home naked yourself!

*Also author of Million Dollar Goat

Book Review: Coyotes in the Pasture & Wolves at the Door (raising sheep, cooking lamb), Part 2: The Rest of the Story

Coyotes in the Pasture & Wolves at the Door, by John & Sukey Jamison (Word Association Publishers, 2018, 187 pp, $35), Part 2: The Rest of the Story (reviewed by Emily Steele, cook, and Skye Anderson, non-cook)

A Memoir Spiced with Lamb Recipes

Coyotes in the Pasture & Wolves at the Door has both word and pictures, plus recipes thrown in for good measure. Yesterday we focused on the words and today, on the recipes (and pictures) thanks to co-reviewer Emily Steele.

Lamb is not the most popular meat, perhaps because of its expense or the slightly gamey taste but it can be cooked with very few ingredients, allowing the flavor to star. And the Jamisons of western Pennsylvania have perfected raising sheep, pasture-fed, over the past 50 years. They were also the first to offer mail-order lamb and to sell to the best chefs: they even befriended Julia Child!

The recipes included in Coyotes are easily created by the average cook, given quality meat, like Lamb Leg Mini Roast, p 176.

We especially loved the idea of lamb spaghetti and lamb risotto and lamb stroganoff, along with lamb burgers and rack of lamb. And, of course, also included are three notes from Julia Child and a photo of her kitchen.

What We Might Suggest

Short chapters told perhaps chronologically, with 2-3 photos and a delicious recipe make Coyotes a fun book to keep - and to use!. A good idea, but perhaps difficult to carry out, would be to coordinate the chapters with the recipes and, of course, to caption the photos (but later, we found a list of the photos in the back of the book and even without that, it was fairly easy to discern who was in each photo from the accompanying story). The recipe photos were taken professionally while the family and farm photos vary in quality - but that is part of the charm of this book written so well by two English majors.

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

If you would like to meet John and Sukey Jamison, we invite you to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival where they will be selling and signing their book and giving a lecture/workshop. The Festival is always on the first full weekend in May, at the Howard County, MD, fairgrounds.

We can't wait to meet the Jamisons at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on May 4th and 5th this year. Won't you join us?

Book Review: Coyotes in the Pasture & Wolves at the Door (raising sheep, cooking lamb), Part 1

Coyotes in the Pasture & Wolves at the Door, by John & Sukey Jamison (Word Association Publishers, 2018, 187 pp, $35), Part 1: The Words (reviewed by Skye Anderson)

I have been trying to figure out why I enjoyed this book so much since it contains 22 lamb recipes (with one fruit, one potato, and one cake recipe) and I do not cook. Is it because the authors, the Jamisons, live in the next state over and are about my age, having lived through the Hippie Generation? Is it because there are 22 short chapters (with an intro and epilogue)? Is it because the cover photo is so intriguing? Is it because the Jamisons, farmers in western Pennsylvania, are name-droppers with the likes of Julia Child (former spy), Anthony Bourdain, Jody Foster 

and several nationally known chefs?

Two Mortgages, Three Kids and No Job, But 200 Acres and 3,000 Sheep!

A wealthy cook and her husband start out to buy land and sheep to raise in the 1970s and end up selling to the great chefs of the world. The Jamisons manage to persevere amid the ups and downs of learning farming and became the nearly first mail-order lamb supplier to major restaurants in the country.

Sustainable Food, Humanely Raised Pasture-fed Sheep

Scrumptious photographs of the end-products of the recipes I will never make but will continue to drool over. I suppose I could attempt a couple since they seem easy, simple and I would start on recipes with the fewest number of ingredients like Loin Chops a la Grille on p. 112.

Writing Style, Book Organization and Suggestions

Authors John Jamison and his wife Sukey were English majors which may account for the readability of the short chapters, interspersed with humor and, even though the chapters are rather formulaic, they are still immensely enjoyable. Photos of the recipes are professional and the book is also dotted with family photos (and letters from Julia!), not captioned but easy to discern. The 'wolves at the door' expression refers to living on a shoestring in the early days but if you can explain the coyotes in the pasture, please let this reviewer know!

Stay tuned to more information about the recipes: my usual food reviewer lives across the country but I have found a local expert!

Oh, and two of the 'blog-chapters' also feature dogs, of course, like "Kate, the Wonder Dog"!

Book Review: Million Dollar Goat (children's book)

The Million Dollar Goat, by Melinda McCall* (Argyle Fox Publishing, 2023, $16.99 HB/$9.99 PB, 32 pp, ages 3-9)**

A Story of Two "Kids"

Can goats be adorable? In a word, "Yes!" And Ernie, a Nigerian dwarf goat, proves it with the help of illustrator Laraib Sukhera and writer-veterinarian Melinda McCall. But do goats eat money as depicted on the cute cover or do goats find money or do goats steal money or are goats worth a million dollars or what? Your own little kid will have some wild ideas before reading this book about another little kid (baby goat).

Based on a "true story," The Million Dollar Goat will soon become your child's favorite. Kids all over will be calling their dogs, "Million Dollar Dogs," when they go to the vet clinic to get spayed or neutered or maybe even when they get too close to a skunk and get 'skunked.' Or run into a door or play too rough or eat too much and have to go see their doctor, an animal doctor, a veterinarian.

Ernie starts out as a baby goat, a kid, who goes to the vet at three weeks old and meets Dr. Melinda for the first time - but not the last! Does that give you an idea for the million dollars? Do you wish you were Ernie's person, Sophie Jo - or not?

What's Next?

Perhaps a stuffie*** that looks like Ernie! A coloring book? 

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*The author will sign books (for Ernie, and tell his story) at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on May 4 and 5, 2024.

**Reviewed by Skye Anderson

***stuffed aninal

Book Review: Nel and the Fling! (children's book)(OT)

Nel and the Fling! A Story about Responsibility, by Julie le Cornu (Brok Pty Ltd, 2019, $19.95 Australian, 30 pp HB) First in a series

Flings are adorable. Doesn't everyone want one? So, when Nel manages to catch one, she is elated until she finds out how much work it is to care for another being. Nel also finds out that not all animals or flings like living in captivity. Some shrink.

Quandry

Nel dearly loves her fling but, ah, the work involved and no matter what she does to help give her fling a happy, comfortable life, Nel just doesn't succeed. What to do is a lesson in responsibility. When Nel frees her fling, she also frees herself!

Reminiscent of This is The House that Jack Built, Nel & the Fling! will be a fun book for your child to learn as it repeats each paragraph.

Other books in the series include The Groobs and The Lady of Rara-Jou.

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Review by Skye Anderson

Book Review: The Groobs (children's book)(OT)

The Groobs: A Story about Many Things, by Julie le Cornu (Brok Pty Ltd, 2019, $19.95 Australian, 30 pp HB) 4th in a series

Groobs* are simply lovely creatures who come in shades of yellow and orange and tan and red until we see blue and brown and green and purple groobs - and more. But groobs obey their leader, the multi-colored groob, until he starts giving orders that destroy. The groobs sill obey - that is, until a brave little groob asks a question and changes their lives for the better.

"A story about many things" will challenge the reader to look carefully at each page to see whimsical items the author has stashed there, from a baby groob in mother's pouch like a kangaroo to standing on people's hands as they are shaking hands (both hands at the same time).

Other books in the series include The Lady of Rara-Jou and Nel and the Fling!

Review by Skye Anderson

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*Groobs look like colored snowmen but furry. You want to just hug them, antennas and all.

Book Review: The Lady of Rara-Jou (children's book)(OT)

The Lady of Rara-Jou: A Story about Giving, by Julie le Cornu (Brok Pty Ltd, 2019, $19.95 Australian, 30 pp HB) 6th in a series* 

A rhyming book with the final word of each line in color, The Lady of Rara-Jou** is an experience your child will have fun with, learning some Australian words and spellings to boot!

The lady of Rara-Jou has a hole in her heart that she tries to fill with things that belong to other people, things that the reader will love to point out and name, even the Teddy Bear with one leg.

How the lady learns that taking things from others will not make her happy in the long run is a story to remember.

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*Other books include The Groobs and Nel & the Fling!

**Rara-Jou is a solar system and the lady is blue in more ways than one

PS - giving is the opposite of taking

Review by Skye Anderson

Book Review: Soldier Girls (three deployed National Guard women, Afghanistan, Iraq)

Soldier Girls, by Helen Thorpe (Scribner, 2014, $28 HB, 432 pp) Best book of the year: Publishers Weekly

If you have worked in a hospital or for a college or have served in the military, you know that that experience is more than just a job. It is a culture. 

Soldier Girls is a long yet fascinating book about three women soldiers' lives in the Indiana National Guard: three women of different ages, with different jobs. They deployed together to Afghanistan in 2004-05, returned home to various experiences, and two of them also deployed to Iraq in 2008, then returned home.  This book chronicles their friendships, the trials of working and living in a man's world, operating in a combat zone and also returning 'home,' changed, to family and friends.

The National Guard is a unique career, whether full-time, or, more likely, part-time. One can stay with the same unit of soldiers for an entire career. On the other hand, we are more familiar with the larger national military services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force - where one is transferred as an individual every 3-5 years, but in smaller job classifications, may work with the same people years later at a different duty station.

So, being in a state national guard unit, soldiers may form long-lasting bonds. And, if deployed together, a group quickly establishes relationships* that may last a lifetime. Or not.

Our group of three women were truck drivers and weapons repair technicians, two were married, one had children, one was in her 50s while the others were in their 20s and of college-age. Different, yet when living and working together, formed stable long-lasting relationships

So Different and Yet, So Much the Same

Everyone in the military shares some of the same experiences. Every combat soldier has had some  experiences in common. And yet, each one is different. This reviewer spent several days of her deployment at the military base where these three women spent a year, in Afghanistan, albeit a couple of years after the incidents in the book, when some rules were relaxed and others tightened. 

Soldier Girls traces the lives of the three women from the day they enlisted to twelve years later, after deployments, marriages, divorces, IEDs, injuries, leaving the Guard - but mostly focuses on the friendships, the training, the culture, the dogs each base 'adopted,' the housing (tents) and PXs, the weather and the food. If you, dear reader, have been deployed, you will relive your time 'down range' in the 'sandbox' and remember, amid the differences.

Uniforms erase differences: on a deployment, one does not have kids or a mortgage to pay. Your laundry is taken care of, your meals are provided and you do not have to go grocery shopping. Life is simpler. And military friendships differ from civilian ones - some last outside of the deployment and others do not. The military changes people and deployments really change a person for the better - in some ways.

Writing Style

Soldier Girls is a keeper!

Review by Skye Anderson

*Some readers may feel this book should be R-rated for the frequent accounts of affairs. Rest assured this is not as frequent in all deployments.

Book Review: The Healer's War (a nurse in VietNam)(OT)

The Healer's War, by Elizabeth Scarborough (Doubleday/Bantam, 1988, 320 pp HB, $26.99) Winner of the Nebula Award for science fiction or fantasy in 1989. 

Irreverent Woman at War

No holds barred, this novel is unusual and captivating, as well as often irreverent - quite often, as a matter of fact. In three parts, the first, "The Hospital," being the longest, followed by "The Jungle" and finally the shortest "Coming Home," The Healer's War is about an Army nurse in Vietnam, written by an Army nurse who served in Vietnam.

For the Veterans - Different War, Same Stuff

A fast read this book is, that details memories, the same yet different of just about anyone who has been deployed to a combat zone, but how times have changed, how the Army has changed - more formal today though some aspects are still the same, especially in the boonies where protocol takes a back seat to staying alive.

Part One, "The Hospital"

Fortunately, author Elizabeth Scarborough gets the Army right, at least an Army hospital in a deployment zone. Living in a small small hooch, sweating, working night shifts, getting to "know" the GIs, taking care of wounded Americans as well as Vietnamese, one of whom seems to be a holy man who gives Kitty his necklace as he is about to die. 

The necklace is magical and shows colors around people to warn Kitty of their intentions but the necklace also gives Kitty healing powers. After all, this is a fantasy novel.

You might want to read this lively part of the book with pen and paper to remember the names the characters. In addition, the diary of a combat nurse's shifts, colleagues, and patients may bore the reader, though those with some hospital experience will eagerly devour the stories and recollections.

Part Two, "The Jungle"

Surviving a helicopter crash, Kitty and her young patient must navigate the jungle and along the way they meet a snake, villagers, and the VietCong.

This part must be read carefully so as not to mix up days.

Part Three, "Coming Home"

Home, finally, Kitty, though disilusioned, experiences what many returnees experience after returning from combat - a culture that doesn't understand. How Kitty finally finds peace and a new meaning to her life closes out the novel.

Drawback: Although the author includes a two-page glossary of Vietnamese terms, she writes, "My apologies to any Vietnamese speakers for inaccuracies. I wish I had had your assistance when compiling this." That is no excuse, especially when this reviewer was a Vietnamese speaker, and finding one in 1988 would have been easy.

Review by Skye Anderson

Book Review: Treasure State, A Cassie Dewell novel (mystery, Montana) (OT)

Treasure State, by CJ Box (Minotaur Books/St. Martin's, 2022, 286 pp, $28.99), Book 6 in the series. Review by Skye Anderson

Montana Murder Mystery

CJ Box' Treasure State only gets better with each chapter (in other words, it starts out slowly) as it ties nearly all the many loose ends together. However, you may not want to read this at night, alone in the house.

Yes, there is a Manhattan, Montana, and most of the other towns are very familiar to me, being from northern Idaho. Even the historical facts of copper mining are 'right on.' However, I'm so glad it took place in Montana and not my Idaho, and though the most well-known nickname of the state is Big Sky Country, The Treasure State is also a nickname (which fits in so well with the plot).

Our PI (private investigator), Cassie Dewell and the other characters are not ones the reader can necessarily identify with or want to be but they are real, even the old bag lady who simply walks from one end of town to the other. Cassie lives with her 16-year-old son Ben and her mother, who doesn't get along very well with Cassie but works as her receptionist, at times. Fortunately, Cassie also has an assistant, a PI wanna-be, a 20-something from Wyoming whom Ben has a crush on.

Like many mystery series, Box' weaves in previous characters which only serves to whet your appetite to read the earlier five in the series.

A Doozy of an Opening

The first chapter is a doozy. An overweight and laconic PI, JD Spengler from Florida arrives in Montana and is close to solving his case in the first chapter only to have that chapter end with "JD Spengler had no idea he would never leave this place alive." (p. 7)

And then you find out that Spengler is not the protagonist but it takes several more pages to get to know Cassie Dewell, PI.

All in all, a suspenseful story by an Edgar winning author - with a strikingly beautiful cover.

Book Review: The Bee that Can't See (children's, eyeglasses)(OT)

The Bee that Can't See, by Cynthia Ng (printed in Australia, ages 3-8 [pre-K to lower primary], 2021, 36 pp PB) Review by Skye Anderson

A Bee Who Can't See? A Travesty!

When you hear of a bee who can't see, what is the first thing you think of? 

We thought that maybe bees can't see at night so they stay home in their cozy hives, but, no. This bee, named Bella, crash lands because she literally cannot see very well at all. Everything is fuzzy. She lands in a pond one day and hits a large animal another time but fortunately she always gives a warning buzz. 

Her friend Salvatore the snail suggests they go see Ming the mantis, the optometrist on the hill, because that is what friends do - they help each other. And that visit will explain the front cover.

We Like This Book!

Friends Salvatore Snail and Ming Mantis (in addition to Bella Bee ) display behaviors that snails and mantises and bees actually exhibit.

Bee is a short book with a lesson of love and some humor tossed in with clear illustrations.

Book Review: Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin (children's book about an invisible illness)(OT)

Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin: An Ehlers-Danlos Book, by Pey Carter and Abigail Bailey (Wise Ink, 2024, $18.95, ages 4-8, 31pp HB) Review by Skye Anderson

What a Title!

Written by mother Pey and daughter Abigail, Bendy Bones and Stretchy Skin is an unforgettable title that explains a very rare genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos. Both mother and daughter exhibit the condition but the book follows daughter Abigail as she receives her diagnosis and as both explain the condition to Abigail's school chums.

The Value of Friendship

Pey wears knee braces to help support her when walking and sometimes has to use a wheelchair while Abigail needs to sit in a soft chair and sometimes must leave class to walk a bit but other than that, she is as normal as ever. This is a condition that can be an invisible disability so the students then brainstorm what they can do to help their friend. They decide to run on grass rather than asphalt or concrete, and to play basketball when Abigail feels too weak for races.

Lovely Illustrations

We also love the watercolor illustrations and Abigail's red hair but mostly we love the zebras - count them and see if you can find one on nearly every page. Just as some cancers have associated colors (pink for breast cancer), Ehlers-Danlos has an animal, the zebra, with a story behind it that can be found by googling.

Book Review: The Tales of SCUBA Steve: Isfjell Point (campers, environment, the Arctic)(OT)

The Tales of SCUBA* Steve: Isfjell Point, by Steven Kamlet (Fulton Books, 2023, 102pp PB, ages 7-9, $19.95) Review by Skye Anderson

Third in a series, Isfjell Point magically transports** half a dozen advanced swimmers (boys and girls both) at a day camp to exotic locales, a la The Magic Treehouse, but doing so is more subtle for the swimmers and rather than a history lesson, the campers learn respect for the environment and SCUBA* safety.

The first book involves Hawaii and sea turtles - animals caught in fishing nets
while the second features Carcharodon Island.

Isfjell Point brings our group north of the Arctic Circle to meet playful seals and helpful narwhals. Along the way, our intrepid pack is reminded of SCUBA safety and how to act around wild animals, even those who live underwater.

But what do they find in the Arctic waters and what do they think of the aurora borealis and polar bears and glaciers calving? And what do they do about the garbage they find even way up north - all the plastic from populated regions around the globe?

*Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

**Camper Ben and his friends with counselor "SCUBA Steve" swim to the bottom of the camp pool and into the drain, coming out in exotic locales where their assistance is needed by marine animals.

Book Review: Recipe Road Trip (young reader)(OT)

Recipe Road Trip: Cooking Your Way Across the USA by Nanette Lavin (Kitchen Ink Publishing, 2023, $24.95HB, 252pp, ages 6-10 years, grades 1-5) Review by Skye Anderson. 

A Keeper, Whether You Have Kids or Not

So, you're not a cook. Or, so you need something fun to keep your kids occupied and learning?

Recipe Road Trip is a creative way to learn cooking and geography with plenty of good jokes thrown in for laughs. Travel through the US from the northeast to the territories, one state at a time, stopping over to cook easy, intermediate and advanced recipes while learning fun facts and jokes about those foods.

Cook Your Way Across the USA!

With more than 120 delicious recipes, this book will last a long time! A bonus is meal menus from the various regions with a recipe for each level of difficulty for each meal so all three kids can all participate!

We started with Maryland, then went to Washington and Idaho and Arizona and Hawaii - then all the others. Maryland dishes are crab cakes (level 1, beginning cook) and Berger cookies (level 2, intermediate cook) while Washington's are wild mushroom barley (level 2) and Emma's applesauce (level 1). 

Suggestions

We would suggest, for the 2nd edition, that the book be spiral bound for ease of use and for some of the recipes we simply did not 'get' the connection with the states they are listed under, but then we are not real foodies. We loved the jokes but a couple were forced and before we passed them on, we reworded some of them slightly. One favorite: Q: What do you call a pig who gets fired from his job? A: A canned ham.

For Washington: Q: What did the apple skin (peel) say to the apple? A: I got you covered.

And why couldn't the teddy bear finish his muffin? Because he was stuffed already!

Maybe add a diary page so readers (and cookers) can write down their favorite recipe, a new joke, and make this book really theirs.

All in all, this book is a keeper for kids and adults as well.

Book Review: Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar (OT)

Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar by Georgeanne Irvine (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, 36pp, $14.99HB, ages 6-10) Review by Skye Anderson.

Surprise!

Tornero is like Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin - he just appeared one morning  and was named Nugget until the zoo found out he was a boy. Soon the little sloth became a superstar as he was trained to be a wildlife ambassador for the San Diego Zoo. He was slowly given exciting adventures and opportunities away from his mom Xena, a wildlife ambassador, when he could handle the separations and in the first few outings he was given a stuffed sloth to hang on to (but he soon graduated from that).

The young reader will see Tornero's foot prints on the inside covers and read what even families can do to help conserve wildlife, such as feeding birds, keeping cats indoors, and planting native plants rather than invasive exotic species.

But the most fun is following the little sloth and learning about this unusual animal through the trips he will take to visit schools to teach children about nature - and he will travel by Slothmobile! But so far, he has only been on TV.

Life Upside Down

The sloth, a slow animal, spends a lot of time hanging on tree branches, upside down!

Even though you might like a pet sloth to eat your broccoli, they are wild animals and we need to respect that. This book will help educate people about animals and what families can do to help in conservation efforts.

I can't wait for more books in this series like Amazing Omeo, A Baby Koala's true Story of Survival.

Book Review: Angela and Lulingu: Two Gorillas, a World Apart (OT)

Angela and Lulingu: Two Gorillas, a World Apart, by Brenda Royce (Blue Sneaker Press, 2023, ages 6-10, 36pp, $14.99HB) Review by Skye Anderson.

Two gorillas, different yet similar, live "a world apart." One lives in a zoo in California (Angela) while the other, orphan Lulingu, lives in a sanctuary in Africa. They are different species but closely related.

Angela and Lulingu opens with the story of Angela, the zoo baby, then shares the Lulingu's story and concludes with a few pages comparing and contrasting their veterinary care, night nests, favorite foods and daily life. 

Author Brenda Royce includes just enough photos to balance the words and even though many pictures do not have captions, it is easy enough to title them yourself! A combination of photographs with fern and flower artistic artwork in purple, orange and green, bordering on comics, is a unique approach to keep the reader's interest.

Most pages also have a vocabulary word and definition like 'orphan' and hopefully your child will notice that Angela's color is green, Lulingu's is red-orange and the several pages in the back of the book are blue-purple where the two gorillas are brought together in prose and photo. Lulingu's sanctuary, GRACE, has even selected her to become an ambassador for gorillas and conservation.

Angela's mom had not been a mom before so the zookeepers used a stuffed gorilla to teach her what to do.

Baby Angela

And Lulingu, without a gorilla mom, had two human caretakers 24/7 until the baby was old enough to meet the other gorillas in the sanctuary.

Baby Lulingu

With an emphasis on what gorillas can teach us and what young readers can do to help endangered animals, perhaps some of these students will someday work in the fields of animal conservation.

Book Review: The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott: A Bald Eagle Adventure

The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott: A Bald Eaglet Adventure by Keith Ross (Book House Publishing, 2023, book and plush toys $65, 672-piece puzzle $19.99, 38 pp PB) Review by Skye Anderson.

A Gem!

Little baby eagles, eaglets, are so ugly they're cute! And this is a book about two eaglets and how they were saved from possible harm.

Saved by a Dog!

It all started with a dog. Mom and Dad Eagle didn't make a very good nest so one day the eaglets found themselves not in a tree top aerie (eyrie) but on the ground where dangers lurk for little birds who can't yet fly (or walk very well). A little dog walking by with his human one fine early May morning noticed the birds and 'told' his person that he saw, heard and smelled something out of the ordinary. Human goes to investigate and finds two baby eagles on the ground, not in their tree top nest where they belong! She calls a large volunteer corps into action to treat the little eaglets and climb their tree to put them back into their nest.

Home at Last!

With beautiful prose - sometimes suspenseful - by author Keith Ross, and incredible photos of the day* in May that the birds were saved, also by Keith Ross, The Rescue of Eddie and Elliott is inspiring and educational for students and families alike. Ross has included pages of fun facts plus a bonus page of questions and answers that tell the reader what to do when finding a baby bird: this page is worth making into a poster!

Stuffies, Too! (Plushies)

You can get your own Eddie and Elliott who are velcro'd together, or a jigsaw puzzle to make and frame - and Youtube also has the story to watch.

All in all, a book to remember taking place in a little, barely known town in Washington - Sequim.

*The Rescue is probably about one entire day when knowledgeable volunteers sprang into action to do what needed to be done to save our national birds.

Book Review: Amazing Omeo: A Baby Koala's True Story of Survival (OT)(children's book)

Amazing Omeo: A Baby Koala's True Story of Survival by Georgeanne Irving (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Press, 2023, $14.99HB, ages 6-10, 36pp) Review by Skye Anderson.

With the most adorable cover, Amazing Omeo tells the story of both one baby koala and of koalas in general as well as a bit about wildlife and conservation with baby foot prints on the inside front cover and grown-up footprints on the inside back cover. 

Jelly Beans and Roller Coasters

Did you know when a baby koala is born, he is the size of a jelly bean and is called a joey? He lives in his mom's safe pouch for about six months until he grows.

Omeo's first few days were truly a roller coaster ride healthwise. As a found orphan, he had to be fed around the clock every few hours and sometimes he wouldn't eat. It would seem as if something was wrong but then he would revive and look strong. 

Teaching a Koala How to Be a Koala

Omeo's zookeepers slowly taught Omeo everything - from drinking out of a bottle to eating eucalyptus leaves. And other koalas eventually helped by being good role models. 

Koalas are the only animals who can eat eucalyptus and it is their only food. These Australian marsupials can eat the leaves because they have a certain bacteria in their gut that they get from their moms. Without a mother, Omeo had to depend on the zookeepers to be able to get other koalas to 'donate' some of that bacteria in 'pap' from poop soup for Omeo to grow and prosper. And grow he did: on his second birthday he loved his 'cake.'

Amazing Omeo is balanced with just the right number of words and photos - and colors. Pink is Omeo's color framing many of the pages and pictures. The young reader will also learn amazing fun facts about koalas and also learn how they and their families can help conserve wildlife.

If you liked Amazing Omeo, you will also like Teaching Tornero: The True Story of a Sloth Superstar! And there are more titles in the series from the San Diego Zoo.